The Mesoproterozoic eon, often regarded as mundane and static, lays the foundation for dramatic transformations in Earth’s physical and biological evolution during the subsequent Neoproterozoic.
PNAS
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Study Suggests Ancient Earth Skies Rained Down The Ingredients For Life
Earth’s atmosphere might have contributed to the origin of life more than previously thought.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
All Life Copies DNA Unambiguously Into Proteins. Archaea May Be The Exception.
The beauty of the DNA code is that organisms interpret it unambiguously. Each three-letter nucleotide sequence, or codon, in a gene codes for a unique amino acid that’s added to […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Coral Reefs Have Stabilized Earth’s Carbon Cycle For The Past 250 Million Years
Coral reefs have long been celebrated as biodiversity hotspots – but new research shows they have also played a much deeper role: conducting the rhythm of Earth’s carbon and climate […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Mapping Mars’ Large River Drainage Systems For The First Time
Billions of years ago, it rained on Mars. The water collected in valleys and rivers, filled and spilled over the rims of craters, and was funneled into canyons, perhaps even […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Prebiotic Organic Compounds In Samples Of Asteroid Bennu Indicate Heterogeneous Aqueous Alteration
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission characterized the asteroid Bennu and delivered pristine samples of its regolith to Earth.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Organic Geochemical Evidence For Life In Archean Rocks Identified By Pyrolysis–GC–MS and Supervised Machine Learning
Significance Teasing out biochemical information from ancient organic-rich sediments, notably the timing of the emergence of photosynthesis relative to the inferred oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere, remains a challenging opportunity. To […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The First Animals On Earth May Have Been Sea Sponges, Study Suggests
A team of MIT geochemists has unearthed new evidence in very old rocks suggesting that some of the first animals on Earth were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge.
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Ultraviolet And Biological Effective Dose Observations At Gale Crater, Mars
The incident ultraviolet (UV) irradiance on the surface of Mars is strongly sterilizing and plays a critical role in atmospheric and near-surface photochemistry.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Four-million-year Marinoan Snowball Shows Multiple Routes To Deglaciation
Twice during the Neoproterozoic Era, Earth experienced runaway ice-albedo catastrophes that resulted in multimillion year, low-latitude glaciations: the Sturtian and Marinoan snowball Earths.